Background

The capital of British Columbia, Victoria (pop. 80,032), is located in the far southwestern reaches of Canada on Vancouver Island. Situated about 60 miles southwest of British Columbia’s largest city, Vancouver, Victoria participates in the Capital Regional District’s blue bin curbside recycling program. The CRD is the regional government that serves 13 municipalities on Vancouver Island, and it uses 12-gallon blue bins to collect recyclable containers and blue bags to collect paper items at the curb. The program services single-family houses and small multifamily buildings with up to four units, and has been in operation since 1989. Blue bins and blue bags can be purchased for $4C and 50¢C, respectively, at various locations in Victoria and surrounding vicinity.

Materials recycled

Blue bins The following materials may be commingled in the blue bins: metal and plastic lids (removed from their containers), aluminum cans, steel/tin cans, foil containers, detergent bottles, drink bottles, milk jugs, pill/vitamin bottles, shampoo/soap bottles, yogurt/margarine tubs, rigid plastic food containers, CD jewel cases, glass bottles and jars, drink/soup/juice boxes, milk cartons and gable-top cartons. All items must be cleaned/rinsed and flattened, if possible. Blue bags The following paper products are banned from the garbage and must be placed in a blue bag for recycling: office paper, newspapers and inserts, flyers, magazines, catalogs, paper egg cartons, envelopes, paper towel/toilet paper rolls, stationery, file folders, paperboard and paper bags. Shredded paper must be secured in a paper bag or paperboard box before being placed in the blue bag.

Frequency

Victoria recycles at the curb on a biweekly basis. Bins and bags must be curbside on pick-up day by 7:30 a.m. A collection lookup tool is available online.

Other programs

The Hartland Recycling Depot’s public drop-off facility (1 Hartland Ave.) accepts most common types of household hazardous waste for free for safe disposal. For a complete list of acceptable items (including bulky items, yard waste, appliances and more), click here. Fees apply to certain bulky items.

More information

Visit the Capital Regional District Curbside Recycling website for more recycling program info.